A common challenge facing international clients moving to Italy is the registration (“trascrizione“) of their birth or marriage certificates at the Ufficio di Stato Civile at the Comune.
Registration of overseas birth or marriage certificates is optional for non-Italian citizens resident in Italy. Italian citizens, on the other hand, are obliged to report any changes in civil status (marriage or divorce) to the Italian Consulate if they are living abroad, or to the Comune if resident in Italy.
The rules relating to registration of civil status were most recently updated in legislation published in 2000. (D.P.R. n. 396 del 2000)
By way of example, on recognition or grant of Italian citizenship, the applicant’s overseas birth certificate must be registered either at the Comune of birth of their Italian born ancestor, or at the Comune of their own residence in Italy.
Another example is the case in which an applicant wishes to apply for Italian citizenship based on marriage to an Italian citizen. Their overseas marriage certificate will need to be registered at the Comune.
In order to request the trascrizione, an appointment needs to be made at the Ufficio di Stato Civile of the relevant Comune. The certificate must be produced by the applicant or a person holding a valid power of attorney or delega. It must be in a legalised form (this will usually mean it must be fixed with an Apostille by the relevant Foreign Office, in the event that the certificate has been issued in one of the countries which is a party to the 1961 Hague Convention). The certificate and Apostille must also have a sworn or certified Italian translation in a form accepted by the Comune. Payment is made of a marca da bollo of 16 Euro.
